New answers tagged phrase-requests
1
We do have this idiom:
like water off a duck's back
You say that criticism is like water off a duck's back or water
off a duck's back to emphasize that it is not having any effect on
the person being criticized.
Source: Collins
COBUILD
In Endangered Phrases: Intriguing Idioms Dangerously Close to Extinction, author Steven D. Price ...
0
As you say, if the cap/shoe fits, wear it does not mean the same thing as the negated statement if it's not your shirt, don't put it on. This particular translation appears to be a common problem among Hungarian - English free online dictionaries (EUdict, bab.la), which may be borrowing from similar sources of information like this 2006 Hungarian English ...
1
I hadn't thought of it yesterday when I asked, but outlet might be another word. (Still has strong connotations with pipes and water, though.)
out·let (out′lĕt′, -lĭt) n.
a. A passage for escape or exit; a vent. b. A means of release or gratification, as for energies, drives, or desires: exercised as an
outlet for frustration.
a. A stream ...
1
As Redd Foxx, the late comedic actor, was known to say, "Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly is to the bone."
Here are some words to describe a handsome or beautiful person who does not have the charisma or personality to match. (Not all the words convey the idea of beauty in combination with a lack of charisma):
shallow
vacuous
one-dimensional
superficial
...
3
Overflow has been repurposed for more general usage to refer to places to place excess people or items. While the entry in Merriam-Webster primarily lists its liquid meanings, like
3 : an outlet or receptacle for surplus liquid,
I've seen many times transferred meanings to contexts like event rooms and inventories.
For instance, an overflow room is ...
0
In this case/essay I won't be focusing on [something] but instead the [other
thing]
...but its really impossible to give a sentence without any context
0
Arm Candy,
Eye Candy,
Trophy 'wife'
These all carry the implication that the person is primarily important for their looks. It doesn't say that they explicitly lack personality or charisma, more that they're not relevant.
Collins dictionary :
Eye candy is used to refer to people or things that are attractive to look at but are not interesting in other ...
0
2D art
2D art encompasses all kinds of art made in 2 dimensions, which obviously excludes sculpture.
‘Graphic arts’ is not really a good answer because it refers to ‘graphics’ ie things that are written or engraved or scratched (graphic is from the greek for ‘writing, drawing’, ‘graphics’ does not encompass painting, although in modern times ‘graphics’ use ...
-1
" Sycophant " is not a word for mindless zombies , it covers a lot of the technical term for people who are within their comfort zone to believe an authority figure because it is convenient for them for a myriad of reasons. Zombies are more dead and non- thinking then a psychophant who can think but is more susceptible to the " herd mentality " . Like they ...
3
be just a pretty face.
To be physically attractive but lack any distinguishing achievements, intelligence, abilities, or other personal characteristics.
Tiffany might be popular because of her looks now, but once we're out
of college she's going to be just a pretty face.
(The Free Dictionary)
-1
For both scenarios you describe, I would quote former US representative from Oklahoma J. C. Watts, to say it's a clear case of having no character.
Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught. Watts
and
...
0
If you rephrase the question and ask "why do we behave better when we're being observed?" then the expression would be 'social pressure', 'peer pressure' or 'group pressure' depending on the situation.
Psychology Dictionary definition for Group pressure:
any direct or indirect social pressure that is exerted by a group on its individual members to ...
1
Follow-up visit
(British English- medicine, social welfare)
a visit made as a follow-up to an initial visit
Patients still typically wait 20 days for a routine follow-up visit.
(Collins)
1
The phrase "Greenfield opportunity" is often used to describe such an advantage.
11
The expression I always hear is first come, first served
first come, first served
The first people present will be the first to receive something, often something that is available in limited quantities.
A negative way of stating the same thing is "If you snooze, you lose."
12
Australian English has the expression "First in, best dressed", which means exactly this. I've also heard it used by New Zealanders.
7
In your second paragraph, "land" is referenced. So a relevant idiom is
Land Grab which leads to Pioneer
Both phrases imply someone who is "first into an undeveloped area" and is seizing the available territory.
Pioneer is extended to mean being first into any area, whether it be a scientific research field, or space, or a business.
Ant was a pioneer ...
37
In business, there’s the phrase “first mover advantage”, implying that the first company to set up in a particular field will do better than later arrivals.
2
In Danish: "Den der kommer først til mølle, får først malet".
Literally (wordby word): "The one who comes first to the mill, gets first grinded".
This is a commonly known phrase in Denmark, even among young people (I guess). By the way, notice the ethymological family: mill, mølle, malet.
1
The idiom : “fortune favors the bold” is applicable for your examples.
From wiktionary.org, it means that “Luck is usually on the side of those who take chances and risks”.
The people who ‘goes there first’ are those who take chances and they will always get the most benefits(if there are any).
24
Another idiom:
Getting in on the ground floor -- investing or joining something small, before it gets big.
be/get in on the ground floor
to be or become involved in something from the beginning:
He was sure that he was getting in on the ground floor with the next big thing.
Can someone tell me how you get in on the ground floor of a deal ...
4
I'm not sure if there's a word describing the physical action of walking over your own footprints to obfuscate them, however, to fill in the blank in your quote:
“The boy took a strange path through the trees, circling back to the same spot every so often. I couldn’t tell if it was intentional, an effort to ___________ his tracks, or if he was truly lost”
...
0
A "spook" is a term used to refer to an espionage agent, typically associated with the CIA, but not encompassing all members of the agency.
A "fed" does not specifically refer to the FBI either, although it is often associated with them. Any law enforcement agent with federal authority would be considered a "fed", short for federal agent. If you've ever ...
4
First in, first served?
To me the phrase "early bird catches the worm" is always followed by "but second mouse gets the cheese", which feels like it dampens the meaning of the phrase
1
There is no official shorthand, and no colloquialism that applies to all aspects of the CIA, where the Feds refers to the collective FBI.
Spook refers to a spy specifically (a data analyist at the CIA is not a spook). If you said "We were in Russia on vacation, when the spooks overthrew the government." it would be understood that you are referring to the ...
-1
You're making a metaphor: if you use invisible or transparent, you're implying it would have been something someone else sees, or that the change would be something seen and not "felt" or "experienced."
So I disagree with using invisible/transparent. But one of the reasons you're in this rut is that you've started with this format:
'This change will be ...
50
The idiom is "The early bird catches the worm."
"The early bird catcheth the worm." first recorded in John Ray's A collection of English proverbs 1670, 1678.
This has been shortened to "early bird" and "early riser" but it is a bit towards the colloquial and not exactly a technical term.
"Early adopter" has no value attached to it. You could be an early ...
4
This is a fishing expedition (or, in a small way, merely fishing):
A search or investigation undertaken with the hope, though not the stated purpose, of discovering information.
— Lexico by Oxford
It's also used in another, related context, of getting someone to offer you something you want. For example, if you mention that you're driving somewhere,...
0
A more general term would be "relocation" but I don't think that would work well for what you are describing. If it can be casual rather than formal, maybe something like "The Welcome / Farewell Checklist" might work...
1
Obtuse may work, as it can refer to insensitivity as well as the lack of wit or smarts of someone who demonstrates such insensitivity. Merriam-Webster:
2a : lacking sharpness or quickness of sensibility or intellect : insensitive, stupid
He is too obtuse to take a hint.
So to include that in your present example, obtuse would describe ...
1
"Internal open source" is OK. Or "InnerSource" can be used.
https://www.infoq.com/news/2015/10/innersource-at-paypal/
2
Another name for an individual whom (also as defined "bumpkin)
Is described as ignorant, ignoramus, or foolish, would be a "Rube"
5
Someone who is constantly deceived and never learns would be an easy mark. Here is Merriam-Webster:
: one easily imposed upon, duped, or overcome
The duped meaning especially comes into play in contexts where someone is otherwise being fooled. For instance, Psychology Today in an article titled "How to Keep Fake News Out of Your Head" (Guy P. Harrison, ...
3
Charlie Brown is slow on the uptake.
If someone is quick/slow on the uptake, they understand things
easily/with difficulty:
He's a little slow on the uptake, so you may
have to repeat the instructions a few times.
— https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/be-quick-slow-on-the-uptake
I think this emphasises the persistence of ...
11
Sucker.
sucker n Slang
One who is easily deceived; a dupe.
TFD Online
10
The term for this in American English (where Charlie Brown comes from) is patsy.
patsy n Slang
A person easily taken advantage of, cheated, blamed, or ridiculed.
TFD Online
15
Two different words spring to mind:
Naive
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/naive
too willing to believe that someone is telling the truth, that people's intentions in general are good, or that life is simple and fair
Gullible
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/gullible
easily deceived or tricked, and too willing ...
2
Tactless also is from music but doesn't carry an offensive overtone.
having no tact; unaware or intentionally inconsiderate of someone else's feelings
0
What you describe is actually called a stack overflow in computer science: A stack is a LIFO data structure (last in, first out) designated to manage tasks. When too many tasks come in before they can be handled, all memory available for the stack is full. And bad things happen.
1
In photo metadata we make a distinction between the Photo Description, and the Photo Caption. So Description would be something like "red voyageur canoe proceeding from upper left to lower right through rapids with chaotic currents. Far shore is red veined grey granite, with dense spruce. Where the caption may be, "Shooting Otter Rapids on the Churchill, ...
1
We could say, in your example, "Hassim must have food on the brain!" This means that his current thoughts are of food and affecting his other actions, not necessarily that he has a one-track mind for food all the time. (One-track mind can be used with for, as I just did, but usually it is simply stated that someone "has a one-track mind" and the focus is ...
19
I've worked at a number of software development companies where it would be called:
going down a rabbit hole
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/go+down+the+rabbit+hole
To enter into a situation or begin a process or journey that is particularly strange, problematic, difficult, complex, or chaotic, especially one that becomes increasingly so as it ...
6
I call that a chain of prerequisites, and it applies to more than learning.
3
Anapirophilia (from Greek ανάπηρος/anápiros meaning person with disability) or debilophilia (from Latin debilis meaning lame, disabled, crippled, infirm) could be coined as a philia word. When I've searched the words in Google, each had a single result.
Surprisingly, anapirophilia (and anapirophiliac for the person) appears in a book about fetishes and it ...
39
In the software development world, there is a humorous term called "yak shaving" that describes a very similar situation of cascading dependencies.
As noted on https://americanexpress.io/yak-shaving/:
"Yak shaving refers to a task, that leads you to perform another
related task and so on, and so on — all distracting you from your
original goal.
In ...
6
There is a logical expression, which, though not exactly what you are asking, could reasonably be applied to it. I mean the idea of infinite regress
Google.com offers this explanation.
An infinite regress arises when we ask what are the justifications for the reasons themselves. If the reasons count as knowledge, they must themselves be justified with ...
14
Dependency hell refers especially to software with conflicting dependencies, but can be used somewhat more broadly to refer to pain from prerequisites.
Scope creep mostly refers to new requirements being added, broadening a project's scope, but might sometimes also be applied to dependencies causing things to spiral out of control.
3
Further research has led me to the Identity Fallacy, in which "the validity of one's logic, evidence, experience or arguments depends not on their own strength but rather on whether the one arguing is a member of a given social class, generation, nationality, religious or ethnic group, color, gender or sexual orientation, profession, occupation or subgroup (...
1
I've seen them called Twelve Step programs (based on the original Alcoholics Anonymous format). More generally they would be addiction support groups as Jeremy suggested.
1
Let me break down your question into two parts, if I am not wrong, then in detail section you suggest two different persons: a person having disability and other person being sexually attracted towards to that disable person. And, your inquire is about the latter one.
Assuming that, let's processed further to delve deeper into this topic.
A simple ...
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